6 Must own RPG's of 2012

2012 has already gotten off to a great start with RPGs, with releases like Mass Effect 3, Tales of the Abyss for 3DS and Kingdoms of Amalur, it's already off to a great start. 2012 also offers quite a few more amazing RPGs and this is my top 6 must own RPG's of 2012

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6. Xenoblade Chronicles

Released in Japan in 2010 and Europe in 2011, North America finally gets it's hands on one of the most praised JRPG's of the last decade. Developer Monolith Soft (known for their great Xenosaga series on PS2) and director Tetsuya Takashi (known for his work on Chrono Trigger) brings one of the best JRPG's that employs an open-ended design with a perfected real time combat system along with a save anywhere feature and day/night cycle. The game is about the battle of Bionis. You must fight off the invasion of a mechanical army and uncover the secrets of a sword called Monado.

If you don't own a Wii this game alone is worth the price of a Wii.

5. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings

Released on the PC in 2011, consoles fans finally have a chance to play one of the best Western RPG's to date, if you are looking for a WRPG that doesn't hold your hand, has a deep and rich combat system with a great long storyline that has multiple branching paths, if you don't own a high-end gaming PC and own a XBOX 360 this game is a must own.

4. Game of Thrones

With Game of Thrones TV show exploding into the mainstream and crushing TV ratings in 2011 it was only a matter of time before we got a Video Game adaption of A Song of Ice and Fire series. My question is why did they wait over 15 years to adapt this into a video game? The setting alone would make for a great RPG and we finally get one so better late than never i suppose. The game narrates through a member of the Night's Watch and a Red Priest and takes place during the first book Game of Thrones.

3. Dragons Dogma

Dragons Dogma is a Open-Ended Western RPG developed by Capcom and i have a love/hate relationship with Capcom as well as many other gamers, they have been less than mediocre with their titles over the years but Kobayashi (known for Resident Evil, Devil May Cry and Dino Crisis) is highly involved with the game which gives me faith in the game, and what i have seen over the past year it looks to be a great WRPG that can restore the faith of many gamers including myself that Capcom still has what it takes to make great games. It also has one of the best concepts i have seen in a RPG that i can't believe other RPG's haven't used, the game gives you a team of NPCs to help you in your journey and you hand pick one to be your right hand man and you can invite your friends right hand man to come in your game and help you through your journey and when your friend boots up his game that character has all the progress it gained in your game and vice versa.

2. Torchlight 2

Not much to say about Torchlight other then it's a Diablo clone (AKA Dungeon Crawler) and that isn't a bad thing, this time around Torchlight is bringing COOP, bigger environments and more dungeons. Oh.. and a whole lot more loot.

1. Diablo 3

Like Torchlight there isn't much to say about this, millions of fans including myself have been waiting over 10 years for this sequel. The game offers a Auction House that allows players to sell their loot for real cash or in-game gold and a revamped and more competitive PVP mode. If you were a fan of Diablo, Diablo 2 or Dungeon Crawlers in general there is no reason not pick this game up.



Honorable Mentions

Risen 2: Dark Waters (I left this off the list simply because the first Risen was one of the most underwhelming mediocre RPG's of this generation, it was bland and quite boring but from what i have seen of Risen 2 it looks to be vastly improved and very interesting. The pirate setting has me sold but the track record of the developers has me skeptical, it's still worth keeping your eye on.)

Guild Wars 2 (I left this off the list because same with Risen i was bored to death with GW1, the game lacked innovation, the world felt dead, the combat was mediocre and it just wasn't fun. Now having played the beta it looks vastly superior, the combat is really polished and this time around it isn't instance based and is a full blown open world RPG i just don't have time for MMORPG's but that isn't to say others shouldn't be anticipating this, if you are a fan of MMORPG's this game is one of the only MMO's i have seen/played that could be a potential WOW killer)

The Last Story (I left this out simply because there is no official set release for North America, this, like Xenoblade is one of the best JRPG's to come out in over 10 years and if it does come to NA it could make 2012 one of the best years for RPG lovers)